Teleological ethics, also known as act utilitarianism, holds that an action is right if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain or happiness over unhappiness. Joseph Fletcher expanded on this view, stating that ethics is determined by whether an act helps or hurts people. Fletcher provided guidelines for ethical decision-making focused on considering people's needs and the proportional consequences of choices. Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like courage, wisdom and justice. Divine command ethics holds that morality is determined by the commands of a supreme being as revealed in religious texts like the Ten Commandments.
Teleological ethics, also known as act utilitarianism, holds that an action is right if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain or happiness over unhappiness. Joseph Fletcher expanded on this view, stating that ethics is determined by whether an act helps or hurts people. Fletcher provided guidelines for ethical decision-making focused on considering people's needs and the proportional consequences of choices. Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like courage, wisdom and justice. Divine command ethics holds that morality is determined by the commands of a supreme being as revealed in religious texts like the Ten Commandments.
Teleological ethics, also known as act utilitarianism, holds that an action is right if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain or happiness over unhappiness. Joseph Fletcher expanded on this view, stating that ethics is determined by whether an act helps or hurts people. Fletcher provided guidelines for ethical decision-making focused on considering people's needs and the proportional consequences of choices. Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like courage, wisdom and justice. Divine command ethics holds that morality is determined by the commands of a supreme being as revealed in religious texts like the Ten Commandments.
Teleological ethics, also known as act utilitarianism, holds that an action is right if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain or happiness over unhappiness. Joseph Fletcher expanded on this view, stating that ethics is determined by whether an act helps or hurts people. Fletcher provided guidelines for ethical decision-making focused on considering people's needs and the proportional consequences of choices. Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like courage, wisdom and justice. Divine command ethics holds that morality is determined by the commands of a supreme being as revealed in religious texts like the Ten Commandments.
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Ethical Theories
• 1. Teleological ethics `comes from a Greek word Telos or goal
or end .this expressed in the maxim he right thing to do is the good thing to do. The teleological approach is also termed as act utilitarianism where the good resides in the promotion of happiness or the greatest net increase of pleasure over pain. Joseph Fletcher a situation ethicist said that human need determines what is or what is not ethical . if the act helps people, then it is a good act, and if it hurts people it is a a bad one. Teleological Ethics Fletcher provides the guidelines for making Ethical decisions: 1l.considerations for people as human beings 2.considerations of consequences 3.proportyionate good to come from the choices 4. propriety of actual needs over ideal and proportionate needs 5. n a desire to enlarge choices and reduce chance 6. and a courageous acceptance of the consequence of the decision. Teleological Ethics • E.g. The City health Department is planning for their annual budget. The modernization of the city hospital or the nutrition and immunization programs of the poverty- stricken families of the city. To which program they allot a bigger budget? Will promotion of health and prevention of illness have priority over treatment of illness and rehabilitation? Teleological ethics • Utilitarian Ethics ;it upholds the notion that that human being should act for them to produce the greatest happiness , or the highest quantity of pleasure directed towards e greatest number of recipient or beneficiaries. • There are two divisions of utilitarianism namely ; 1. Act –requires that the man should act so as to produce the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people Teleological Ethics • It is also called EUDAIMONISTIC (based on the notion of Happiness. • 2. Rule – human person should act so that the rule governing their action will produce the greatest happiness for the most number of people. • It is also called Hedonistic (based on the notion of Pleasure) Teleological Ethics • Utilitarianism: states that the rightness and wrongness of actions is determined by the goodness and badness of their consequences. • E.g. Physician for instance . should minimize the cost of suffering of their patients. Whenever there is a choice between various but equally effective method of medical treatment ,patients benefits should be maximized and the cost and risks are minimized. To use an expensive method at the expense of the patient when an inexpensive one may be sufficient would be highly regarded. Virtue ethics • Also known as aretaic ethics (from a Greek word arete) is focused primarily on the heart of the person performing the act. It focuses on the traits and virtues of a good person such as courage, temperance, wisdom and justice. However doing the right thing is not all that is needed. One must have the right motivation, disposition, and traits for being good and doing right such as courage ,magnanimity, ,honesty , justice and beneficence. Virtue Ethics • Intellectual Virtue is the power to deliberate about things good for oneself. Moral virtue on the other hand must be lived overtime in order to be learned. Nurses , when faced with particular situation must be able to know what to do. They must be able to integrate virtue ethics with duty. Virtue Ethics • E.g. Suppose a student is requested by her classmate , who is also her best friend. To let her copy in their examination so that she will pass. The student should not allow this to happen as formal cooperation in an evil act is never allowed. She will be as equally guilty as the one who will cheat as she will be serving as an accomplice to the evil act. Divine command Ethics • Is based on the theory that there is a Supreme or Divine being that sets down the rule to provide guidance to moral decisions. For Christians , these rules are found in the Ten Commandments. Differences in religion , however pose a problems such as what to do when the decision would conflict one’s religious beliefs. Divine Command Ethics • For example members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will not receive blood transfusion even if their lives will be put in danger. • Example: A Nurse is approached by a friend who request for an abortion. The nurse refuses but refers the friend to a doctor who can perform it . this is violation of the divine command , ”Thou shall not Kill . It violates the principles relating top the origin and destruction of life.